To be shocked that in the uk in 2012 circuses ...

[Shakirasma]

AIBU to be shocked that travelling circuses can still use wild animals in their shows?

In my ignorance I honestly thought this practice had been banned because in recent years all the ones which have been to our area have only used domestic animals like dogs and horses, or had no animals at all.

The latest one is promoting itself as a traditional circus and their posters show a zebra and a camel.

AIBU to feel disgusted by this? I was given complimentary tickets at work, they went straight in the bin.

YANBU I feel the same and I also think zoo's need to rethink some of the animals they keep as well!

yanbu. I thought they were banned

YABU
Camels are hardly a wild animal, they are as domesticated a beast of work as a horse or a donkey.
Zebra... not far off a stripy horse.

A circus either looks after it animals well or it has no animals. ill cared for animals don't work well and draw complaints. If you want an all human circus, fine, go to an all human circus. But if your OK with horses, ducks and dogs performing think about why you are so disgusted by camels.

I don't particularly like any animals in the circus. I am sure they are well cared for but I find the whole travelling lifestyle inappropriate, and training these animals to perform like they do is horribly unnatural.

YANBU, these shows are vile and whenever there is an undercover investigation it throws up new horrors. YAB slightly U to bin the tickets though, would be worth either using them to get in and check out the animals' condition without giving the circus any money or sending them to a group like CAPS who could put them to the same purpose.

Zebras and camels can be trained as easily as horses, YABU. If it was lions, tigers and bears you would have a point.

Grag - circuses in the UK do have lions and tigers and until last year elephants. I'm not sure though why it's ok for some animals to be carted around in totally unsuitable conditions as entertainment and not others. Why the government is still fannying around and hasn't brought in a full ban yet is beyond me.

I thought all animals had been banned from circuses years ago. I'm very saddened to hear that's not the case.

YABU... the animals are not wild. They are domesticated, exotic animals and all they are trained to do is the kind of thing they would do naturally e.g. walk around in a circle or stand on a platform.

There is a circus that comes to our town yearly and causes outrage as it has animals in it. I think it is The Great British Circus but I can't remember as we have 2 that visit, one being non animal the other having tigers, elephants ect.

For all the bad that is going on here in Greece, we are the 1st European country that has just put a ban in place against using animals in circuses. I hope many other Eurpean countries follow suit. greece.greekreporter.com/2012/02/07/animal-circuses-banned-in-greece/

Which circus is it - because I go to them all - and the only thing I've ever seen is horses and budgerigars.

There used to be a circus near me every October.
They had horses,zebras and camels, you could see them grazing in a field.
They haven't been there the last couple of years, I thought it was because they'd been banned.

Maybe it's just the poster that has the pictures, rather than the actual circus having the animals ? (Hopefully)

I also thought wild animals were banned from circuses.
I still remember as a child seeing a circus where there was a big cat act, and how uncomfortable I felt watching those amazing creatures being bullied by some bloke with a whip.
Hated it from an early age, and it gave me a tiny bit of pleasure when that Las Vegas performer got attacked by 'his' white tiger.
Was it Penner and Penner, can't remember?

The Great British Circus had tigers in it last year

As long as the animals are treated fairly and trained professionally then I take no issue with it at all.

Forcing any wild animal to perform, and the fact that circus life keeps them in cramped conditions is downright cruel.
What is fair and professional about that?

I cant get their website to open.

There are a lot of media links to alleged poor contions but whether thats an animal rights crusade or justified grievances, I cant tell - I would assume the home zoo/farm/grounds would have been shut down and performance licences removed a long time ago. I know our borough doesnt give licences for performing 'wild' animals (budgies clearly not being a danger to mankind and kept by every Tom Dick and Harry in tiny inappropriate cages - much like rabbits, guinea pigs, etc etc etc)

ladybeagle like I said AS LONG as the circus is fair and professional I take no issue. If I were ever going to a circus I'd research them by finding out who is responsible for overseeing the animal welfare issues of the troupe I was going to see to make sure all is in accord. If animals are being mistreated then the troupe should be shut down but I wouldn't label them as cruel out of hand.

They're not wild animals. Keeping a domestic camel or elephant in a stable, allowing it to graze during the day and transporting it in a box is no more cruel than what happens to horses and cows. As they are also the source of income for the trainers and performers rather than simply pets, they are exceptionally well cared-for.

The way I see it is that people teach thier animals tricks all the time. Providing that they're above board with thier handling of the animals, the only difference here between training a pet and training a cirus animal is that the owners are making money for it.

Troisgarcon I can not get on the Great British Circus website but read an article which confirmed they are the circus that has come to our area yearly and I know it was here last as a few of ds1's school friends went to see it. There poster has a tiger on it and it boasts of being the only circus still with wild animals on them. People campaign yearly to get the council to ban them as I believe other councils elsewhere have.

YANBU. There's a particular deviousness about some circuses, Zippo's is one of them, who will advertise on their posters in the town they're performing in that they don't use animals in their shows while in fact they do in other towns they travel to, they just don't take them to towns where they know they're going to face opposition.